"I have heard the rumors," the writer said. "I've been hearing them for years now.

"In terms of my future on Doctor Who, this kind of speculation only takes place in the heads of the fans. I'm going to be busy doing [new BBC One spy drama] The Game for however long that lasts and I think Steven is doing incredible work on Doctor Who and I'd much rather he stay there."

Whithouse claimed that he has "genuinely... no idea" if the BBC would ever select him to replace Moffat as the sci-fi drama's head writer when the time comes.

"No-one from the BBC has said anything to me," he insisted. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued by the idea, but also it would be terrifying. It's definitely something I'd be really tempted by but I'm genuinely not in any hurry to do it."